World of Weird Al Yankovic

I voted for Alpocalypse. SOL had funnier parodies than originals (which is odd for me to see an album of weaker originals) and White & Nerdy is much better than Perform This Way. My second favorite song on SOL is Don't Download This Song. As TMBJon said, the highs are higher on Alpocalypse, but Alpocalypse is consistently strong.
My favorites on Alpocalypse are Party in the CIA, Skipper Dan, If That Isn't Love, and Polka Face (A little different than my initial 2 listens.)

Alpocalypse isn't as good as Running With Scissors (my favorite), but is tied with Bad Hair Day for me.

Tough call, but I'd have to go with "Alpocalypse".

SOL had an infinitely stronger lead single, and several songs that are better than anything on ALPO, namely "Close But No Cigar," "I'll Sue Ya," "White & Nerdy," and "Trapped in the Drive Thru". But ALPO is far more consistently good. SOL had a couple of mediocre tracks - "Weasel Stomping Day" and "Do I Creep You Out". ALPO has only one - "Ringtone" - and that one is actually better than either of those two from SOL.

Straight Outta Lynwood was way funnier. Musically I really dig Alpocalypse, more so than Lynwood. The Alpocalypse theme is better too, although the ganster imagery for Lynwood was great. Parody-wise I go with Straight Outta Lynwood and for original content I'd pick Alpocalypse.

I think Alpocalypse is brilliant as a whole, but I'm starting to think that maybe SOL is truly the better album. I agree that it had the stronger lead single (I mean hey, who knows if PTW is going to age well or not) but with Alpocalypse, I can definitely pick out the weaker tracks right off the bat (Ringtone, If that Isn't Love, WYL). It's a little harder for me to do that with SOL.

One thing that really makes SOL stand out as such a strong album is that it's really the only album that seems to have an overall theme. It's the only album where the lead single perfectly matches the artwork, title, and theme of the album. What's strange is that it was never intended to be that way. If things had gone according to Al's plans, SOL would have had a rap/hip-hop theme, despite not having a single rap/hip-hop song on the entire album! So, really, I think "White & Nerdy" is more critical to the success and the overall quality of the album than really any other lead single has ever been. If "You're Pitiful" had been the lead single, I really doubt the album would be regarded so well.

I daresay that "You're Pitiful" would have been the worst lead single ever, whereas W&N ended up being the second best after SLN. I'm sure some would argue that "Living with a Hernia" is worse but YP is such an easy, easy concept.

I think I like more of the standalone songs on Alpocalypse but as an album I prefer SOL. The peaks of SOL are stronger than the peaks of Alpocalypse, and the same goes for the low points. But there are more songs that I really like or love on Alpocalypse, whereas SOL has a few where I'm just like, "Yeah, that's a pretty good song" (e.g. "Virus Alert," "Canadian Idiot").

I definitely prefer Alpocalypse. I think both albums are great, but while I can listen to every song on that, I have a skip track for SOL - that being "Do I Creep You Out".
SOL had the better lead single. 'Pocalypse had consistently better parodies. I like the polka on Alpocalypse better. I like the originals on each equally.

anthontherun wrote:I daresay that "You're Pitiful" would have been the worst lead single ever, whereas W&N ended up being the second best after SLN. I'm sure some would argue that "Living with a Hernia" is worse but YP is such an easy, easy concept.

Well, I agree as I said that "You're Pitiful" would have tanked the album. However, I don't think it would be the worst lead single ever. Nor do I think "Living with a Hernia" is the worst. That prize remains with "Couch Potato" - easily his worst lead single. It's just barely better than "Syndicated Inc." in my opinion. And no, I don't blame Eminem at all! "Lose Yourself" is an absolutely brilliant song. But all did a horrible job with the parody, IMO.

Alpocalypse is superior.

anthontherun wrote:I daresay that "You're Pitiful" would have been the worst lead single ever, whereas W&N ended up being the second best after SLN. I'm sure some would argue that "Living with a Hernia" is worse but YP is such an easy, easy concept.

Hey, that gives me an idea!

Dave